PAK Decals

1/35 German Tank Division Markings, Part 1

Sheet Number: 35001

Reviewed by  Andrew Birkbeck, IPMS# 27087

PAK Decals & Details are a new firm from Mexico, with Sheet 35001 obviously being the first in a proposed series of 1/35th scale armor decals. [Ed Note: see review of parts 2 & 3 here.] As the title implies, this sheet covers a total of 35 German armor unit markings. Included in the set are turret numbers, Waffen SS Panzer unit markings (Das Reich, Totenkopf, Polizei, Frundsberg, Nordland etc), plus some markings from the heavy tank battalions (sPzAbt 502 through 508), along with various misc. markings such as DAK palm tree/swastika and balkenkreuz. The decals come with a simple black and white photocopied A4 sheet listing the various decals numerically, plus the usual "decal application instructions" detailing how the modeler should go about applying the decals. The placement instructions list only one actual vehicle: a Mid Production Tiger 1, #312, from sPzAbt 505, "1943", plus four front/rear drawings of a Tiger 1 showing generic marking placement ideas. In other words, you will need to do your own research to use these markings. The decals themselves are very well printed with good color saturation and near perfect registration; the clear decal film is cut very close to each printed decal. They fall somewhere between aftermarket Aeromaster and Tamiya kit decals in terms of thickness. For testing purposes, I sprayed a sprue of spare kit parts with some Tamiya acrylic German Panzer Yellow, followed by a coating of acrylic clear "Future". The decals were then cut from the sheet and dipped in room temperature distilled water. After setting them aside for about one minute the decals loosened nicely and could be easily positioned onto the kit parts. When the decals were applied to a flat surface, they adhered very well, without any sign of "silvering". The next challenge was applying the number "O" and the Balkenkreuz to some parts that had gentle raised detail. Again, the decals adhered very well with the application of Mr Surfacer two-part decal setting solution. I also tried similar decals using the Microscale system with equally pleasing results. Then came the "big test": applying some decals (swastika and Balkenkreuz) to some model parts with very large "boiler plate" rivets. The massive bolts were on the hull bottom of some parts from an Eastern European Panzer 38t kit, and are probably the largest bolts I have seen on any 1/35th scale kit I own. As you can see from the accompanying photos the decals did not snuggle down completely despite numerous applications of setting solution. And when I pricked the decals to remove the air bubbles that appeared around the bolts, the decals "chipped". Perhaps this was an "unfair" test given the size of the bolts, but I thought it worth a try to see if they could handle it. They couldn't. I then tried some Aeromaster Japanese Hinomaru decals over the same boiler plate bolts. Guess what: the Aeromaster decals snuggled down nicely after a couple of applications of Mr Surfacer or Microscale setting solution. Overall then what we have here are some very nicely printed decals that adhere well to flat surfaces and gently raised surfaces, about what most decals are capable of doing. However I don't see anything on these sheets that isn't already available on a host of other "generic" WW2 German armor sheets. This said, in and of themselves the decals are recommended as being of good quality. Check out PAK Decal's web site (www.pakdecals.com) to see if they are a product that might meet your armor building needs.

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